No Matter What Happens
by Shadow Riku
Summary: Please review! Lily has never thought of James other than a conceited jerk. So for her fifth year at Hogwarts, Lily only wants him to keep away. But what happens when James decides that he'll make her fall in love with him... no matter what happens?
1. Back to School Blues

No Matter What Happens

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. All familiar characters, events, etc. belong to J. K. Rowlings. Anything else is mine.

Prologue: Back to School Blues

Lily Evans was at her desk responding to the letters of her friends when she heard a sharp rapping noise at her windowpane. Glancing briefly at the window, Lily saw what appeared to be a large brown owl carrying a letter. She brushed her thick auburn hair aside to reveal bright emerald eyes and stood up to let the owl in.

The owl fluttered in onto her desk, dropped a thick letter, and then started back from its delivery. Lily knew what was in the letter as soon as she laid eyes on the familiar wax seal bearing four animals. She hastily picked up the letter, vaguely noticing a difference in the thickness and wait, and opened it curiously. The all-too-familiar Hogwarts letter lay inside, but something else caught her attention. A gold and scarlet badge landed in her hand, followed by an extra note.

Ms. Lily Evans,

Congratulations. We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Gryffindor prefect for the following year. Please note that, if you accept, all prefects are required to meet at the prefect compartment on the train to Hogwarts. There you will be informed of and given your duties. We expect your owl by no later than July 31.

Sincerely yours,

Minerva McGonagall,  
_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily smiled widely and ran to tell her parents the good news. "Mum, dad!" she cried breathlessly as she entered the dining room. Mrs. Evans gave her daughter a warm smile as she noticed the letter in her hands, "Hogwarts letter, dear?"

She nodded eagerly, gripping the badge in her hands even harder. "But that's not all I got, mu— "

"Mum!" another voice called excitedly. Lily's older sister Petunia came rushing in with a giddy smile across her blushed face. Mrs. Evans held up her hands to make her stop. "Wait a second, Petunia. Lily was just about to tell me something."

Petunia glanced down at the letter clutched in Lily's hands a frowned slightly, though she said nothing. Lily held up her prefect badge and exclaimed, "I'm a prefect!"

Her mother hugged the girl tightly and cried, "Oh Lily, that's wonderful! We'll have to do something special for you… is there anything you want to do in particular?"

Lily shrugged, her eyes searching the letter yet again. "I'd better go send a response back," she murmured to them. She started going back to her room when she suddenly whirled around, where she saw Petunia glaring at her hatefully. "What's your good news?"

Petunia scowled at her sister and muttered, "Nothing." Then she stormed past Lily angrily to her own room. Lily gave Mrs. Evans a puzzled look, who shrugged helplessly in return. Pushing the matter aside, the girl continued to her room and quickly wrote her response. She gave the letter to her own barn owl, Callie, and watched as she flew out of her window after eating a quick treat. If only September 1st could come sooner…

The Evans family gathered around the table that night, eating a strangely silent dinner. Petunia sat at the end, staring glumly at her plate and picking at her food. For a while Lily's parents tried coaxing a sentence out of Petunia, but finally they gave up when they received no response. Instead, they turned towards Lily and started praising her and asking questions about being a prefect. She was in the middle of answering a question when Petunia suddenly blurted out, "Is it okay if someone comes to dinner tomorrow?"

Mr. Evans eyed Petunia sharply, "What kind of someone?" He had made it a habit of losing it every time one of the girls even mentioned a boy. Clearly he thought his fifteen-year-old daughter and eighteen-year-old daughter were too young to date. He was in denial that his daughters were growing up and never handled the news of a new boyfriend very well.

"A boy," Petunia mumbled, barely audible.

"And what is this boy's name?" Mr. Evans rumbled threateningly. Lily winced at the sign of him losing his temper, but Petunia stared at him boldly and replied in a calm tone, "Vernon Dursley. He works at his father's firm, dad. He's nice and he likes me and is completely _normal_." At this last word Petunia shot Lily a deathly glare. Lily was the only one who noticed this, however, since her parents were exchanging looks of their own.

"I think that's wonderful," Mrs. Evans replied hastily before Mr. Evans could start his typical boy talk. Petunia gave a squeal and jumped out of her seat. "I'm going to go call him now," she called over her shoulder as she raced to her room. Lily watched her sister with a sinking feeling. For some reason she felt that this Vernon would have the same nasty attitude towards her as Petunia had recently. Before she found out about Hogwarts, Lily and Petunia were rather close. But now Lily could notice a steady decline in their once happy friendship. Any mention of the word 'magic' caused Petunia to cringe, and whenever she even so much as _saw_ Callie she would shriek and run from the room.

"Anything wrong, Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked her hushed daughter. Lily shook her head quickly and said with false cheerfulness, "Nothing, mum. I'm just thinking about going back to Hogwarts. Actually, I need to write to 'Rissa and Jen about me becoming a prefect." Then she pushed her chair back and started for her comforting room. Hopefully her friends would be able to lift her spirits a little.

When Lily shut the door to her room softly, her gaze traveled over to her desk. She suddenly didn't feel much like writing. Instead she thought of her new responsibility. Who would be the other Gryffindor prefect? Lily thought about it for a second, her mind going through the list of the Gryffindor boys for possible choices. The only logical choice seemed to be Remus Lupin, though she paled at the very thought. It wasn't that he was rude or anything like that. On the contrary, she would be good friends with Remus if it weren't for _him_.

James Potter would be a nightmare this year, if things were still the same. Since the beginning of her third year, Potter had been like a second shadow to Lily. It seemed that he had taken an interest in Lily and spent much of his time trying to be with her every second of his spare time.

Suddenly the prospect of being prefect didn't sound as appealing as before. Lily groaned out loud and reached for a quill and piece of paper; she had a lot of complaining to do.

* * *

_Sorry for how short it is... I know the next chapter will be longer for sure. Tell me how you like it! (No flames, please!) Suggestions are welcome for this, though I already have some idea where this is going._

_-Shadow Riku_


	2. Return of the Marauders

No Matter What Happens

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. All familiar characters, events, etc. belong to J. K. Rowlings. Anything else is mine.

Chapter One: Return of the Marauders

As the shrill whistle of the scarlet Hogwarts train blew, Lily and her two friends met for the first time since the end of fourth year. Marissa Penton was slightly tall for her age with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She was generally easygoing, but when someone made her angry she could be ferocious. Her other best friend was Jen Myser, an average height girl with straight black hair and dark brown eyes. She was the mischievous one of the group and also had a quick temper.

Lily dropped her luggage instantly as she saw her friends dodging the crowd of kids to reach her. They were dressed in their Muggle clothes as she was, desperately trying to lug their heavy bags and run to Lily all at once.

"Lily, you're a prefect!" Marissa cried, hugging Lily tightly. Lily grinned and nodded, "Yep, mum and dad were really pleased when they found out."

"And what about Petunia?" Jen asked with a smile. Both of her friends knew from Lily's stories that Petunia despised anything magical, even if Lily didn't fully realize.

"She avoided me for the rest of the summer and refused to talk to me unless absolutely necessary," Lily stated with a soft sigh. "But that's not the worst of it! She has this new boyfriend, Vernon, and he's a complete jerk to me! Every time he looks at me he gives me this nasty glare, like I'm something that needs to be stomped on."

"Then turn him into a bug and stomp on _him_," Jen suggested with a snigger. Lily laughed softly, "If only things were that simple, Je—"

"Oy—Evans!"

All three girls turned around to see a boy with messy jet-black hair coming towards Lily, three boys trailing behind him. Lily moaned and whirled back around to find Jen and Marissa giggling. "Honestly, not even ten minutes here and he's manages to find me," she declared in a frustrated tone. "He's like your own personal stalker," Jen agreed as James Potter and his fellow Marauders turned up behind Lily.

"Evans, I finally found you!" James said in a merry tone, seizing the opportunity and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Unfortunately," Lily added under her breath. She made a face and shrugged his arm off in habit. Then she turned to Remus, who was looking particularly ill. His blonde hair was pale and dull, and his eyes shone tired, but cheerful nevertheless.

"Hello Remus, are you feeling well?" Lily asked with a hint of concern. Remus was the only one of the Marauders that she could stand to be near. They often studied in the library together, along with a few other Gryffindor students.

Remus gave her a smile and nodded weakly, "Yeah. I just, er, stayed up late writing a few last minute letters." Seeing Lily's doubtful expression, he hastily changed the subject. "So, could you believe that I managed to become a prefect despite hanging around with these guys?"

Lily's face lit up at once, forgetting Remus's answer at once, "Really? A got a letter saying that I'm a prefect to!"

Meanwhile, James had given a fake gag, Peter stifled a snigger, and Sirius howled, "What!" James gave Remus a quizzical look after a moment, "Why didn't you tell us that you made the prefects?"

"I—I thought that you'd all make a big deal out of it," he stammered.

"Whaddaya mean?" Sirius cried, crashing his hand down on Remus's shoulder. "This is great news!"

"It is?" Peter squeaked, thoroughly confused. "Of course," Sirius replied with a sigh, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Moony won't turn us in to Professor McGonagall after our pranks!"

With a touch of irritation, Remus asked, "I won't?" While the group of boys started a heated discussion, Lily and her friends turned away to put their luggage on the train. The train would leave shortly and Lily would have to go to the prefect's carriage, as her letter instructed.

They got Lily and Marissa's items on without difficulty, though they had a slight problem with Jen's monstrous bags. While Jen stood back with a sheepish grin on her face, the other two grunted and finally managed to get them aboard the train just as a shrill whistle of the train blew. A few minutes later they were on their long journey to Hogwarts.

After Lily parted with her friends, she found herself making her way to the prefect carriage by herself. Other students strolled past her slowly, chattering happily to their friends. As she passed yet another compartment she could hear a door being thrust open by her. James Potter came hurtling out of it and crashed right into her.

"POTTER!" Lily felt herself stumble backwards in surprise, steadying herself and trying to maintain her fury. Through gritted teeth she asked, "What are you doing?"

He grinned and straightened himself up, "Terribly sorry, Evans." She felt her face burn from embarrassment as she brushed her red hair from her face, "If you don't mind, I need to be going now." She stepped past him coolly, only to hear someone call, "Hey Lily, wait up!" Remus had followed James out and was walking towards her. "We both need to head to the prefect carriage, right?"

Lily nodded and they both started once again, Remus calling behind him, "See ya later, Prongs!"

James started back into the compartment muttering, "Yeah, yeah." He slid the door shut and slumped down on the seat by Sirius. He and Peter looked as if they were ready to burst from laughing. Finally Sirius choked out, "Way to go, mate. We're not even at Hogwarts yet and you've managed to get on Lily's bad side."

James grinned halfheartedly, "I suppose it's just my Potter charm, eh? Ever since our third year." He smiled absentmindedly as his mind flashed to the crystal clear memory of when he had first been smitten by the lovely Lily Evans.

"Er—didn't she call you an arrogant jerk and threaten to hex you if you came near her again?" Peter asked with a frown.

Sirius elbowed Peter playfully in the arm and winked. "But it's the thought that counts!"

* * *

By the time the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop, the sky was dark and no stars could be seen from behind thick clouds. Lily, Marissa, and Jen shuffled off the train, followed shortly by the Marauders and other familiar fifth years. Frank Longbottom could be seen up ahead, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his girlfriend through the large mass of students. His slightly pudgy body had thinned up slightly since their previous year, and his face had become more mature and less childish-looking.

"Lily," he breathed as he caught sight of Lily and her friends. "Have you seen Alice yet—I've been looking for her!" When Lily shook her head apologetically, he mumbled a thanks and started into the crowd once more.

"Probably worried that she's out snogging with another guy already," Jen said in a low voice as she watched him disappear.

"Jen!" Lily cried while Marissa stifled a laugh. "You know Alice wouldn't do that to Frank."

"I was only kidding," Jen added hastily. Looking at the doubtful looks on both of their faces, she said, "Let's hurry and get a carriage." Then they started towards the horseless carriages, happy to be back at Hogwarts at last.

* * *

_JustMe: Thanks! _

_Still a kinda short chapter, but don't worry! So what do you think of it so far? More action will come once class starts... that's bound to happen with the Marauders at school!_

_-Shadow Riku_


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